Durban - A French company pursued the goodwill of a man codenamed
"the tailor", believing his political connections were essential to
its bidding successfully for an arms contract.

Forensic auditor Johan van der Walt, testifying in Schabir
Shaik's trial here on fraud and corruption charges, said auditors believed
"the tailor" was the person who had compiled a shortlist of preferred
bidders in the arms deal or Yusuf Surtee, tailor to and close friend of former
president Nelson Mandela.

He said documents proved there were a number of meetings between
the Department of Defence chief of arms acquisitions, Chippy Shaik, and Thomson-CSF before the list of preferred bidders was finalised.

Billy Downer, SC, for the state, said the identity of "the
tailor" was unimportant as the prosecution wanted only to demonstrate how
Thomson-CSF had conducted its business.

Marion Marais, a former secretary to Thomson-CSF director Alain
Thetard, has told the high court her boss's codename for Surtee was "the
tailor".

The first reference to "the tailor" was found in a
September 1997 fax in which Thetard's predecessor, Pierre Moynot, wrote: "Youssuf
Surtee (sic) does in fact appear to be closer to Mandela than my first fax could
suggest. It was through him that (French construction company) Bouygues obtained
the motorway."

A South African subsidiary of Bouygues built the N4 toll road
from Gauteng to Maputo.

In November 1997, Moynot expressed concern that "the
tailor" might be speaking to others.

Later he wrote: "My feeling is our friend is certainly
reliable and I believe that if we wish, if not to sell corvettes, then at least
to secure the combat system and the sensors, a visit by Jean Pierre Perrier, a
director of Thomson-CSF, to the deputy president (Thabo Mbeki) should be
arranged as soon as possible and should be used as an opportunity for him to
meet Jacob Zuma."

Zuma was seen as a "rising man". Moynot had made a
note that the "Zuma problem" was to be solved, the court heard.

In March 1998, Moynot arranged a visit by "Chairman Ranque"
of Thomson-CSF International and wrote: "The tailor told me N Mandela would
be there ... and perhaps one or two ministers. I am trying to convince him to
get the minister of defence ... he does not seem to think Thabo will be there
... priority goes to Mandela and as long as Youssuf cannot confirm the place and
the time, it is a bit difficult to organise an appointment with Thabo."

Van der Walt said he had concluded that Thomson-CSF considered
political connections important to a successful bid and that Shaik shared this
view.

Although Mandela and Mbeki were mentioned, their involvement was
limited to attempts to resolve a black economic empowerment dispute involving
Thomson-CSF.

To position itself to bid for the corvettes contract, Thomson,
through its international parent, invested first in African Defence Systems
(ADS), without involving its South African subsidiary in which Schabir Shaik's
Nkobi held shares. This, documents show, upset Shaik.

After Zuma's intervention and through a complex process, the
"technically bankrupt" Nkobi Holdings acquired a 20% indirect
shareholding in ADS that gave it a stake in the R1.3bn contract awarded to ADS
on the same day, Van der Walt said.

At the same time, Zuma's payments from Shaik and Nkobi rose to
R432 456, he said.